Widespread collaboration is essential to tackle the “energy trilemma: affordability, sustainability and security”, and the selection of the UAE as Cop28 hosts and appointment of Dr Sultan Al Jaber as the summit’s President-designate will help to take this agenda forward, the chairman and chief executive of US energy services company Baker Hughes has said.
“As we look to Cop28, it is bringing all those stakeholders together and having a discussion about implementation, implementation at scale of the technologies, having the right policies and frameworks and having the right dialogue around implementation,” Lorenzo Simonelli told The National in an interview at the World Government Summit in Dubai.
The UAE is preparing to host Cop28 in November, becoming the second Arab state to host the event after Egypt last year.
“I am very much looking forward to Cop28. It is one of the most important events in making sure we have an approach towards tackling climate change and that we have the discussions that are necessary to meet the emissions reductions,” Mr Simonelli said.
He lauded the pledge of the UAE and Dr Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, to hold a “Cop for everyone” to ensure success.
“The way in which it is coined as a Cop for everyone is very important, there is nobody who should not be involved in the discussion,” Mr Simonelli said.
Responding to some climate activists who criticised having representatives of the energy sector present at Cop28, Mr Simonelli said: “I am from the energy industry, we’ve got our role to play in reducing our own emissions, but then also helping others to reduce their emissions, just like agriculture and other industries.”
From implementing digital solutions to expanding the energy mix, industry leaders are looking at solutions.
“I would respond to critics saying that it is important we have everybody present because, at the end of the day, solutions are found by having collaboration and also having a dialogue of all stakeholders,” he said.
Dr Al Jaber is also chairman of Masdar and chief executive and managing director of Adnoc.
Mr Simonelli said his selection as Cop28 President-designate was “a very good one”.
“If you look at the career of Dr Sultan Al Jaber, he has always been an advocate for sustainability, he has always been a pioneer towards introducing technology that can also assess and move people towards the aims that we have in addressing climate change … you need somebody that can actually bring together all the stakeholders and can have a pragmatic approach,” he said.
